A mailpiece insertion system or a “mailpiece inserter” is commonly employed for producing mailpieces intended for mass mail communications. Such mailpiece inserters are typically used by organizations such as banks, insurance companies and utility companies for producing a large volume of specific mail communications where the contents of each mailpiece are directed to a particular addressee. Also, other organizations, such as direct mailers, use mailpiece inserters for producing mass mailings where the contents of each mailpiece are substantially identical with respect to each addressee.
In many respects, a typical inserter system resembles a manufacturing assembly line. Sheets and other raw materials (i.e., a web of paper stock, enclosures, and envelopes) enter the inserter system as inputs. Various modules or workstations in the inserter system work cooperatively to process the sheets until a finished mail piece is produced. Typically, inserter systems prepare mailpieces by arranging preprinted sheets of material into a collation, i.e., the content material of the mail piece, on a transport deck. The collation of preprinted sheets may continue to a chassis module where additional sheets or inserts may be added based upon predefined criteria, e.g., an insert being sent to addressees in a particular geographic region. Subsequently, the collation may be folded and placed into envelopes. Once filled, the envelopes are closed, sealed, weighed, and sorted. A postage meter may then be used to apply postage indicia based upon the weight and/or size of the mailpiece.
While, in the past, inserter systems were limited to combining mailpiece content material with a mailpiece envelop, i.e., inserting content material in an envelope, inserter systems currently offer a wide variety of features including the ability to: (i) modify, group, and manipulate mailpiece content, (ii) read, interpret and extract information from the print stream/content material and (iii) monitor, record and store information relating to the processing status of each mailpiece for the purposes of correcting and reprinting mailpieces or for use by downstream processes such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems.
As inserters have become more advanced and sophisticated, the set-up and programming requirements of these machines have also become commensurately more complex and difficult. As a result, it has become a necessity for the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) of such mailpiece inserters to become intimately familiar with the operations/needs of customers to define the commands/instructions of the mailpiece inserter for its proper/efficient operation. While such communication between customer and the OEM provides a unique opportunity to develop rules/commands for use by the inserter, it will be appreciated that, should changes be required to the original set-up/rules, the cost associated with subsequent modification (once again requiring the unique skills and knowledge of the OEM) can be prohibitive.
For mailpiece content material to be processed by a mailpiece inserter, the inserter must have certain information either about the individual mailpiece, or concerning the mail run data file. This information may be conveyed in one of two ways. In one operating mode, known as a closed-loop operating mode, the mailpiece inserter is network connected to a User PC or Client Server which permits bi-directional communication therebetween. As such, the User PC/Server may communicate with the mailpiece inserter concerning the assembly instructions of a particular mail run or mailpiece job. If certain mailpieces within a particular job are to be processed differently, i.e., contain different inserts or information, then the mailpiece content material is coded, either by means of an identifying number, barcode or other symbology.
As the mailpiece inserter identifies the individual sheets of a mail run/job, it may query the User PC or Client Server concerning the assembly of the particular mailpiece. The bi-directional communication not only permits instructions to be conveyed from the User PC/Client Server to the Mailpiece Inserter, but other useful tracking information may be stored and/or enable more sophisticated post-processing of the mailpiece job run, e.g., the ability to reprint individual mailpiece content documents and fabricate a previously defective/failed mailpiece. Closed loop operation has, in the prior art, been associated with high volume mailpiece inserter systems wherein the inserter and Client Server are network connected and communicate in two directions. Moreover, the software and computing requirements of such systems can be intensive and the cost of development/maintenance may only be justified in high volume mailpiece inserter applications.
In another operating mode the mailpiece inserter is a stand-alone or autonomous device and mailpiece assembly information conveyed by an assembly or scan code on the face of the mailpiece content material. Inasmuch as the mailpiece inserter is not network connected to a User PC or Client Server, the inserter is preprogrammed to receive and interpret the various assembly or scan codes that it will process (i.e., read or scan directly from the content material). This operating mode, known as an open-loop operating mode, is generally reserved for desktop inserter systems wherein mailpieces are produced in low quantities.
A need, therefore, exists for a mailpiece inserter system which employs dual operating modes, i.e., a closed and open loop control modes, to facilitate the printing of mailpiece content material and the creation, manipulation and fabrication of mailpieces.